BYU Basketball Questions Answered In Loss Against Gonzaga

PROVO, Utah – The BYU basketball team lost a heartbreaker against the No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs losing 75-74.

Let’s answer some burning questions from the final Gonzaga visit to the Marriott Center as a WCC conference foe.

Who was the MVP for BYU basketball?

Spencer Johnson had an outstanding game for the Cougars despite being unable to get a good shot off on the final play of the game.

Johnson led BYU with 18 points and chipped in five steals as well.

He made three of his four three-point attempts, however, I’m sure he wants back his final attempt that was blocked by Anton Watson.

That was an outstanding defensive play by Spencer Johnson to prevent a fast break lay-up.

Plays like that illustrate why he’s one of the best players on this team. #BYU #BYUhoops

— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) January 13, 2023

BYU sorely missed Johnson after his injury in the Bahamas.

His return to the lineup has stabilized this basketball team.

Even in the loss, BYU should be encouraged going forward with how they played led by Johnson.

What was something that caught my attention during the game?

Fousseyni Traore had possibly the best dunk of the season in the first half against Gonzaga.

The Cougars forced a turnover and Traore found himself with the ball and nothing but the hoop in front of him.

Dunk master🙇 pic.twitter.com/3Yq8ChGPF0

— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 13, 2023

Spencer Johnson did a nice of preventing Rasir Bolton from blocking him from behind, and Traore bought down the house.

Traore was fouled on the play and made the free throw.

There’s nothing quite like the Marriott Center on a sold-out night like the one against Gonzaga.

What was the most interesting stat from the game?

BYU has been such a good rebounding team this season.

In many ways, it’s kept them afloat when their offense was sputtering.

Coming into the game against Gonzaga, the Cougars ranked 17th in the country in total rebounds per game.

They are the highest-ranking rebounding team in the WCC.

You wouldn’t have known that from watching the game.

Gonzaga out-rebounded BYU 47-32.

The outcome is likely different had the Cougars been better on the glass.

When was the game lost for BYU basketball?

The game was lost when Jaxson Robinson missed his second free throw with 15 seconds left.

Gonzaga was forced to play the foul game, which put pressure on BYU to make free throws.

Sadly, Robinson wasn’t able to make both free throws and that opened the door for Gonzaga to take the lead.

Julian Strawther made the Cougars pay for that mistake with a dagger game-winning three-ball.

Upset falls short.

No. 8 Gonzaga takes down #BYU, 75-74.#BYUHoops pic.twitter.com/sqePBJNAxl

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 13, 2023

BYU only made 50 percent of their free throws. None hurt more than the final miss by Robinson.

It was a brutal loss for the Cougars.

You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter here.